Holidays on the beach. If the school children and their families leave now, there will be more room for the very little ones and those who have left the topic of raising children behind. They also like to feel sand under their feet and hear the waves rushing. So why shouldn’t you pack your bags now and drive to the nearest car beach? In some European countries this still exists: beaches where cars are allowed to drive.
Driving onto a beach sounds simple – and it often is. Beach visitors should still follow some rules. It is important to drive only in the designated areas, even on car beaches, and if possible at walking speed. Some zones are cordoned off so that beachgoers can enjoy the sun undisturbed. Other spots, on the other hand, are too muddy or too soft to drive a car on.
You need a good eye on such car beaches to see whether the sand will carry in front of the wheels or whether everything will sink in down to the subsoil. On such occasions we have already seen the clutches of four-wheel drive vehicles smoke. Even an all-wheel drive, which is now the norm in many compact cars and SUVs, cannot guarantee unlimited sand shoveling. But with an all-wheel drive, as is already common in many SUVs such as the Seat Tarraco, the probability of sinking decreases significantly. If you want to be on the safe side, you can also lower the air pressure in the tires so that the tread becomes wider and therefore have more grip in the sand. If that doesn’t help either, the following applies: wait until help comes – with all-wheel drive.
One of the countries with the most car beach areas is Denmark. The reasons for this lie in the sparse settlement of the North Sea coast in the past. For the farmers and fishermen, the hardened sand in the area of the tidal range was one of the few usable land connections. That’s why the beach is an official road. However, the Danes and those in the know fear the relentless German beach castle builders, they are the biggest enemies of the Danish sand road system – today out of ignorance or because of the green attitude.
The hard-packed sand, barely covered by a few centimeters of seawater, hardly differs from ice in terms of grip, because the tires float quickly. This lures many a driver to pirouette in clouds of spray. The pleasure is indescribable, but so are the consequences on the aluminum engine blocks. They bloom white surprisingly quickly. Therefore, following such a visit to the beach, the vehicle should be washed thoroughly, including the engine compartment and underbody. But even when driving slowly, salt water settles on and in the body. Even the best precautions once morest rust can only help to a limited extent.
If you consider these experiences and tips, you can have a good time on the following six car beaches:
Autostrand Sankt Peter-Ording (Germany)
In Germany, the best place for beach lovers to drive their car is Sankt Peter-Ording, the only car beach in this country. The seaside resort on the North Sea coast in Schleswig-Holstein offers a beach car park at the bathing areas in Böhl and in Ording. In the summer, things tend to get lively here. Thanks to the large extent of the sandy beach, there is always a quiet place to sunbathe. In contrast to the car beach on the Danish island of Rømø, the beach in Sankt Peter-Ording is only open to vehicles from mid-March to the end of October and is subject to a fee.
Rømø Bilstrand und Sønderstrand (Denmark)
On the island of Rømø not far from the German-Danish border are two of the largest and most popular car beaches: Bilstrand (Bil Danish for car) and Sønderstrand. The often strong wind from the North Sea provides good conditions for kitesurfing and windsurfing. Rømø is easily accessible by car thanks to the toll-free Rømødæmningen. The journey from Hamburg takes a little over three hours. Visitors can drive on the extensive sandy beaches without fees and all year round.
North of the Danish port of Esbjerg begins the area of the west coast, where car beaches are more common for car drivers, but especially for camper van drivers.
Car Beach Westkapelle (Netherlands)
The small town of Westkapelle is located in the south-west of the Netherlands in the Zeeland region. The beach is ideal for parking as close to the water as possible and watching the waves from there and is often visited by visitors with motorhomes. Access is free and possible at any time.
Black Rock Sands (Großbritannien)
If you are planning a road trip through Great Britain, you should definitely plan this stop: With Black Rock Sands, visitors to North Wales have a kilometer-long sandy beach that they can drive on with their car for a small fee. Surrounded by the hills of Snowdonia National Park, the beach blends in with its surroundings in an almost picturesque way.
Inch Beach (Irland)
Great Britain’s island neighbor Ireland also has some beautiful car beaches to offer. In County Kerry in the southwest of the island – in the middle of a bay – is Inch Beach. The beach stretches for more than five kilometers along a narrow promontory that juts out into the bay. White sandy beach, big dunes and the rough Atlantic,
Prasonisi Beach (Greeceland)
In the Mediterranean region, motorists have to search a long time before they find a car beach. They are not widespread in Italy, Spain and France. In Greece, however, there are one or two sandy paths that lead to the car beach. For example, the narrow beach that connects the Prasonisi peninsula with the Greek island of Rhodes. The beach is particularly popular with kite surfers, who can bring their equipment directly to the water here. For several years, however, visitors have only been able to park in a part of the beach. The sea has taken back part of the sandy connection to Prasonisi anyway. (awm)
